Food Prep and Tray Set Up

1. Food Prep
   1. Clean and dry produce
   2. Wash and halve strawberries
   3. Cut the roots into long strips (3 cups per class)
2. Dressing Table – 1 tray per class of ~30 students with the following
   
   • 1 bottle olive oil
   • 1 bottle balsamic vinegar
   • 1 jar of honey
   • 3 green onions
   • 3 cloves of garlic
   • 2 ramekins
   • salt in a white ramekin
   • dish towel
   • Grade appropriate dressing task cards/checklists
   • 2 pairs of kid scissors
   • 1 microplane
   • 2​ ​1⁄8­tsp measuring spoons
   • 2 1⁄4­tsp measuring spoons
   • ​2 1­TBSP measuring spoons
   • 3 small jars with a tight­fitting lids
3. Chopping Table – 3 trays per class of ~30 students, each tray contains the following:
   
   • 1 cup of greens
   • 1 cup stems (pea shoots, bean sprouts, celery, or asparagus)
   • 1 cup roots in strips (turnips, carrots, or radishes)
   • 1 cup seeds in a bowl (pea pods; sunflower or pumpkin seeds)
   • 1 cup flowers (pansies; calendula; mustard, onion, or chive flowers)
   • 8 strawberry halves
   • 2 cutting boards
   • 2 knives
   • 1 pairs tongs
   • 1 large bowl
4. Plant Part Shopping Basket / Letter / Rainbow Foods Activity Table:
   1. Plant part salad trading cards (5 sets)

Cook

Students rotate through the table stations so everyone gets to do each activity.

1. Dressing
   
   • Review the three parts of dressings: sours, oils, and seasonings. See if students can recall other dressing ingredients we have used in the past.
   • Hand out the task cards or recipe checklists so that each student has at least one job and all the jobs get done.
   • Let the students work as independently as possible on their tasks.
   • Look at how the oil and vinegar separate in the jar. Talk about that oil and water­based liquids don’t “get along” so we shake them up to combine them for a little while.
   • Shake the dressing and sing the “Shake It!” song.
   • Taste/smell and discuss produce if you have time.
   • If you have extra time, review all the plant parts: get examples, and see if they can figure out the roles of each part.
2. Chopping
   
   • Set 5 cutting boards and a bowl on the table.
   • ​Identify the different parts of the plant
   • Have half of the students chop ingredients and add them to the bowl while the other half tears greens and flower petals
   • Have the students switch so that every student gets to chop and tear
   • Taste and discuss produce if you have time.
3. Plant Part 20 Questions
   
   • Pair students up and provide them with vegetable trading card deck, face down.
   • On each card is a salad ingredient and its “stats”, including its color, form, taste, texture, color, and plant part. Students take turns picking a card from the deck. The student holding the card answers their partner’s questions, 20 questions style, until their partner guesses the identity of the ingredient. If they have trouble guessing, tell them to try asking about how it is eaten or cooked. The guesser gets to hold onto the cards for the ingredients they guessed correctly for the duration of the game. Each card counts as a point.
   • If they get through the entire deck, students must then trade cards, one at a time, to get minimum one each of all 6 plant parts.
   • Once tables rotate, collect each deck and shuffle them before handing them out to the next group of students.
4. Eat and Discuss
   
   • Dress and toss the salads so each table has a bowl and pair of tongs.
   • What color/plant part do you think tastes the best? Try them all to find out!